Page 61 of Lethal Salvation

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Then how the fuck am I meant to help you?”

“I’m going to tell you where the evidence is and you can take it to someone. I know you have help and I know for fact that woman out there is not your fucking girlfriend, so quit bullshitting me.”

“Nadia is exactly that.”

“No, she isn’t so don’t lie. You’re not the only one with contacts, Gideon, and we both know Nadia Benassi is former MI6.”

Gideon lost it, shoving his brother up against the back of the door, his hands tight around his collar. “Is that a fucking threat?”

“Get out of there, Gideon.”

The blood was pounding in his ears, his vision tunnelling red as things seemed to unravel around him.

“No threat, brother.”

“Who the fuck else knows?”

“Just me.”

“How can I trust you?”

“Because I need you to get me out of this. You and Damon.”

“Why now? This could be a fucking setup. You already tried setting me up with the casino and a paper trail leading back to me.”

“That was mother’s idea.”

He wanted to deny it but he saw the truth in Carter’s eyes. “If you want my help, give me the information first.”

“No can do. It’s the only thing keeping me alive.”

“I thought you had protection?”

“I do, but I can’t trust anyone except you and Damon.”

Gideon snorted and pushed his brother away, letting him straighten his shirt and smooth his hair. “Why would you trust me? You hate me and the feeling is mutual. You’ve been the bane of my life and stolen everything from me.”

“You and Damon never even gave me a chance.”

“Bullshit, we adored you but as you got older, you became more and more of a spoiled brat. Acting like you were the second fucking coming. That you were entitled to everything.”

Carter sighed and Gideon saw a different man from the one he’d hated for so long it was a habit now.

“I know, but do you know how hard it is to be the odd one out? I never understood the conversations you and Damon had or the jokes and closeness you shared.”

“You were ten years younger, Carter. There was always going to be things you didn’t get.”

“You made me feel like an outsider.”

He absorbed that and tried to examine his own behaviour and see it from the other side. He hadn’t meant to, but perhaps he’d contributed to the ill feeling in his home.

“And to answer the second question, I trust you because deep down you’re a good man and I know that despite everything I’ve done, you wouldn’t turn your back on me and let me die.”

“You deserve to go to prison for the rest of your life for what you’ve done, Carter. Those women. How could you do that?”

“I’m not perfect.”